Concealed Carry State Laws In Florida

Concealed carry laws, or CCW’s, in Florida refers to the legally issued permit which allows for the carrying of a handgun or other weapon in a concealed manner within any place open to the general public.

Not all weapons that fall under concealed carry state laws in Florida are lethal, there are some states that regulate non-lethal items such a pepper spray that are carried over a set volume requiring the obtaining of a CCW permit. (In some states non-lethal items require a separate permit)

Every State's Concealed Carry Laws Are Unique In Florida

While in Florida there is no current federal law that specifically address the issuance of concealed carry permits for private citizens as each state is responsible for the control of concealed carry permits within its sovereign borders. All 50 states have passed laws allowing their respective residents to carry certain concealed firearms in public, either without a permit or after obtaining a permit from their local Sheriff’s office or Chief of police.

In all states and in Florida the only federal law concerning CCW’s is the Peace Officer Safety Act of 2004, (H.R. 218) to lean about this and all other states Concealed Carry Laws see our database on our website US Precision Defense where we maintain a comprehensive listing of every States weapons laws.

Florida, The Florida state constitution states: “The right of the people to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and of the lawful authority of the state shall not be infringed, except that the manner of bearing arms may be regulated by law.”

A recent report from ABC News that in Florida, where there are more concealed weapons permits than anywhere else in the country, violent crime has dropped to the lowest point in Florida’s history, One prominent Florida 2nd amendment supporter was quoted as saying; “We’re happy to have facts and statistics put into these debates, because every time they do, we win,”.

Firearm related violent crimes in Florida have dropped by one-third in just four years, 2007 to 2011, while concealed carry permits jumped by over 90% percent in that period. Further, violent crime of any kind dropped almost as much, 26% percent. There were naysayers, but their voices are becoming muted as more and more states have adopted “shall-issue” carry laws and have seen their own crime rates drop as well. This rings very true in a quote by Robert A. Heinlein who wrote: "An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life".

This fits very well with Florida’s state constitution that has provisions specific to firearms that state: Article 1, Section 8. The legislature of the State of Florida, in a declaration of policy incorporated in its “Weapons and Firearms” statute, recognizes that adult citizens of the state retain their constitutional right to keep and bear firearms for hunting and sporting activities and for defense of self, family, home, and business and as collectibles.

Florida’s state constitution in regards to firearms is one of the broadest in scope in protecting its citizen’s rights to possess and bear arms in the defense of ones person, home, and property. Florida was in recent years criticized for its liberal concealed Carry Laws and as time went on has now become lauded as the one of the leaders for other states to follow.

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Florida, When Florida passed the first “shall-issue” law requiring authorities to issue concealed weapons permits to qualified citizens upon request in 1987, almost every critic warned that the Sunshine State would soon become the “Gunshine” State, with predictions of differences being settled by gun fights in the streets, and it would send crime rates soaring. The exact opposite has happened. All violent crimes are down by more than 26%, and homicide rates in Florida have dropped faster than the national average. No other state has had such a dramatic decrease.

There are now more than ONE MILLION concealed carry permit holders in Florida, many of whom have had their permits for many years. Across the country, approximately 40 other states have joined Florida in its decision to allow “shall-issue” permits to its citizens; the number of permit holders has reached nearly eight million, and is still climbing. Support for a once-controversial view by recent studies showing that there is a direct correlation in declines in violent crime vs. the number of concealed carry permit holders is growing, even by liberals as they can’t fight the facts or the math….The truth is in the numbers. (Wonder why this is not being reported by the liberal media?)

Florida has reciprocity agreements with 34 other states allowing each other’s citizens to carry their concealed weapons in each other’s state. Florida has on the books already some very good laws pertaining to guns, who can own them, and the procedure which is: “Upon visiting a firearms dealer to buy a gun, you will be subject to a background check with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. After the background check has been completed and you have been approved, you can then purchase a gun; however, there will be a 72-hour waiting period before you are allowed to take the gun home if you are purchasing a handgun.” This procedure is fair and makes good sense and it is the same as in several other states.

Yet there are those that try and do anything they can to change good laws into bad ideas, such as: one Florida Democrat who want it so that if anyone who tries to buy ammunition will have to first complete an anger management program. Florida state Sen. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) introduced a bill which stipulates ammunition purchasers must go through a three-day waiting period to buy any ammo if they have not completed anger management courses. The bill would mandate that ammo buyers take the anger management course every 10 years. (She must be talking to her liberal friends in California.)

To keep up on the latest political news on gun rights and those that are trying to take your rights away see our reports on our website US Precision Defense.

U.S. Precision Defense assumes no liability and is not responsible for the actions of its members or readers of this website. The materials provided here are the opinions of the authors, are intended solely for education purposes, and should not be relied on for legal or professional advice. Laws relating to firearms and the use of deadly force vary from state to state, and each individual is responsible for compliance with the laws of each jurisdiction. If legal or other professional advice is needed, consult a lawyer or other professionals. All materials on this website are copyrighted to U.S. Precision Defense and may not be republished without permission from U.S. Precision Defense.